Pellets under control in the production of submarine cables

A large and very successful Chinese manufacturer and global supplier of XLPE HV and EHV power cables, has been using the Purity Scanner Advanced from Sikora for quality assurance of high voltage cables in their production lines. Reliability is the most important aspect, when selling subsea cable. Typically, the company offers certain years of warranty for this type of cable.

“We cannot take any chances at the production of subsea cables. Each production step needs to be safe. It starts with the compound that we use for the cable insulation. Accordingly, we have implemented an online quality control of the XLPE material”, the plant manager explained. By means of X-ray technology and optical cameras, the system reliably detects contamination inside XLPE pellets as well as on their surface. Contaminated pellets are automatically sorted out.

The Chinese cable manufacturer installed the Purity Scanner Advanced in the submarine cable production line and equipped the system also in another production line at the beginning of 2021 to ensure the highest XLPE purity, a high-quality final cable and the highest customer satisfaction.

“We are all presently recognizing an interesting evolution, whether regarding the new capabilities with the 5G network, the electrification of cars or the careful use of natural resources for a healthy environment, which includes the substitution of coal and nuclear driven power plants by wind energy. The company is in this respect a pioneer and SIKORA the matching partner”, Wanbin Chen, President of Sikora China stated.